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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Zen for Quilters

Quilters know when they have reached their state of Zen when they feel a state of bliss when they coordinate stunning fabrics to make their next project, or find that they prefer to spend time with beautiful fabric vs work! And, many find that state of Zen when being inspired by beautiful quilts at a quilt show.

Personally, I find my Zen of Quilting through a variety of ways (classes, the hum-purr of my sewing machine, quilt shows, and beautiful fabrics). I love creating with a variety of brands of fabric, but I'm definitely in a state of Zen when I get to work with Hoffman fabrics. How about you?

Hoffman has many recently introduced fabrics. While looking at their fabric samples online, these Batik swatches certainly caught my attention. Maybe I should start thinking of a Fall project to use these beauties with:

Hoffman is also releasing their new Christmas batiks and silkscreen prints this coming month. Again, while looking at fabrics on their website I could certainly see finding my Zen creating a Christmas project with any of these batik beauties.

For those lucky quilters that get to attend IQF Long Beach this week, I'm sure you'll find your Zen at this show. Oodles of inspiration with spectacular quilts on display. Be sure to take time to check out Nancy B. Dickey’s “The Winner’s Circle” that will be on display as part of the exhibit “Texas Quilts Today:

Selections from the Book Lone Stars III.” (She’s from Magnolia, Texas.)

Nancy won first place in the applique' category of the 2008 Hoffman Challenge, in which the Challenge fabric a beautiful peacock-themed print. She used the challenge fabric in the jockey's racing jacket.

This green, Asian-themed print from Hoffman's Hanami collection served as the 2011 Challenge fabric. A traveling collection from the 2011 Challenge will be on exhibit at the Long Beach Quilt Festival this weekend.

Many quilts and other sewn items that were entered in the 2011 Hoffman Challenge will be on display at the IQF Long Beach event. On display is one of several traveling exhibits of the 2011 contest that drew entries for all types of quilts, garments, dolls, accessories and even home-décor items.

The entire group of just-completed 2012 Hoffman Challenge entries will be on display at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival, August 17-19, 2012 in Loveland, Colorado. So, if you want to see ALL the entries at once, this is the quilt festival for you! Otherwise, following Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival, the group of40 traveling collectionswill hit the road for 12 months. ALSO at the show, the 2013 Hoffman Challenge will be launched by curator Julie Breidt, who also will reveal the new Challenge fabric. Sulky Thread of America will be entering its fifth year as co-sponsor of the Hoffman Challenge. Whoopee!

For more info on RMQF, visithttp://www.rockymountainquiltfestival.com. Julie also will be on hand at the Northwest Quilting Expo scheduled for Sept. 20-22 in Portland, Ore., where the first traveling group from the 2012 Challenge will be on exhibit.

The new Challenge fabric (and suggested coordinates) is released for sale next month to independent quilt shops and independent retailers; however, first delivery of the new Challenge fabric to shops for consumers to purchase follows in late September/early October. Hoffman California Fabrics will provide a list of shops carrying the 2013 Challenge fabric on its website at www.hoffmanfabrics.com. In addition, Sulky Thread plans to release a special thread collection that complements the 2013 Challenge fabric and suggested coordinates. The Hoffman-Sulky Challenge will continue to offer a youth category for quilters 16 years old and younger (they may get assistance from an adult quilter on their entries) AND a new category is being added for the 2013 contest: “Best Incorporation of the Challenge Fabric.”

Curator Julie Breidt will refresh the Hoffman Challenge website next month (www.hoffmanchallenge.com) to show images all the winning and participating entries for the 2012 Hoffman Challenge. Julie also sells a full-color catalog showing all the entries. The pink-and-lavender rose print (SKU # J8670 70-Lavender) selected from our “Garden Romance” line for the 2012 Challenge symbolizes the contest’s 25th anniversary and honors the thousands of talented quilters and sewists who have taken part over the years.

The 2012 Challenge Fabric was selected from the beautiful Garden Romance collection.

The Irish Mist” screenprint group is delivering to shops now. You may think this is an odd time of the year for a St. Patrick's Day themed fabric, but actually this is a great time to get a step on getting such a project done. Certainly such a themed project would also make for an excellent Christmas gift too! And, probably bring the giver and the receiver a bit of good luck too!

I find my Zen when I least expect it, but agree that the feel and look of fabric has alot to do with it. There is something so lovely about creating with fabric. I have never seen myself as an artist, but have come to appreciate the talent that goes into creating with fabric. The Hoffman fabric you feature is gorgeous.

My Zen comes when I'm free motion quilting. There is something about it that makes every other thought leave my mind - I'm so focused and completely consume with it that it's hard to worry about a thing!

"The Winner's Circle" is AMAZING! I love seeing what quilters do with the Hoffman Challenge every year. Most of the time we see finished quilts by themselves, without seeing the uncut fabrics first. So seeing so many unbelievably different quilts all using some of the same fabrics is really inspiring. I would never in a million years come up with a jockey and horse idea from looking at that challenge fabric. I'll be looking at some of the fabrics in MY stash differently now!

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